Hawai‘i room revenues reached $1.897 billion at the end of the third quarter in 2003 for an increase of 4.7 percent compared to $1.811 billion a year ago, according to the latest Hawaii Hotel Flash Report released by Hospitality Advisors
Hawai‘i room revenues reached $1.897 billion at the end of the third quarter in 2003 for an increase of 4.7 percent compared to $1.811 billion a year ago, according to the latest Hawaii Hotel Flash Report released by Hospitality Advisors LLC (Hospitality Advisors) today.
Kaua‘i continued to exhibit outstanding performance, leading all islands in September and October occupancy with a 7 percentage point gain to 80.2 percent.
“With the increase in direct services (flights to the island) and a number of external marketing services, we definitely have more interest from people wanting to stay on Kaua‘i,” said Margy Parker, the Poipu Beach Resort Association (PBRA) executive director.
“Kaua‘i only visitors that stay here translates to higher occupancy.”
Kaua‘i also saw Average Daily Rate (ADR) increase to $147.72, a 2.8 percent increase over 2002.
The strong occupancy on Kaua‘i has been due in part to tighter room supply as a result of continued time-share sales that have decreased the number of units available for hotel use, said Joseph Toy, President of Hospitality Advisors.
Parker isn’t sure whether Toy’s view is accurate.
“I think there was a little bit more of a tighter inventory,” she said. “However, it also depends on how they (the Hospitality Advisors) measure occupancy.”
Parker added, “When I look at the overall numbers, I look at the Kaua‘i only segment in addition to length of stay. If you just look at those areas alone, they could support higher occupancy.”
On a dollar basis, luxury hotel room revenue grew by $41.8 million to $949.5 million through September 2003 compared to last year, whereas mid-priced hotels saw the greatest percentage increase in room revenues of 10.3 percent to reach $317.5 million by the end of the third quarter.
Hawai‘i’s hotel industry recorded a 2.4 percentage point increase in occupancy to 73 through September 2003, in line with the September 2003 year-to-date increase in visitor days of 3.8 percent as reported by the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT).
The statewide ADR for Hawai‘i rose by 2.2 percent to $144.88, which when combined with the rise in hotel occupancy led to a 5.7 percent increase in room revenue per available room (RevPAR), or $105.74 statewide by the end of the third quarter 2003.
“Consecutive months of record-breaking domestic visitor arrivals, visitor days and lengths-of-stay during the summer helped to offset the substantial losses in Japanese arrivals that occurred for most of the year,” said Toy.
When comparing Hawai‘i to the top 25 hotel markets nationwide, Hawai‘i had the highest occupancy for the first nine months of the year at 73 percent.
Despite the comparatively strong performance so far in 2003, Toy continued to maintain a cautious outlook as does Sue Kanoho, the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau executive director.
“Direct services are very important to us (Kaua‘i),” said Kanoho. “It is the wave of the future.”
Kanoho also cited two factors as key to the future.
“We have to try and shore up or stabilize the inter-island business as opposed to letting it fluctuate on and off,” said the executive director.
“…We are also very excited about the Kauai Coconut Beach Hotel and are looking at the Coco Palms and the Poipu Beach Hotel. We would like to see them get back up on line. They are extremely important to our destination.”
Business Editor Barry Graham can be reached at 245-3681 Ext. 251 or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net
